Material handling attachment for tractors



Spt. 10, 1946.

F. HORNING ETAL MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT. FOR TRACTORS Fild July 18,1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 @mmvrom.

Sept- 0, 1946.. F. HORNING ETAL 2,407,425 5 MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENTFOR JERACTORS 1 Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 i Emu j E fiarizz'mmv 01w.

10,; 1946. F. HORNINC ETAL v MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT Fok TRAGTORS.Filed July 18, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS-V {1/ A I A I Sept. 10,1946. F. HORNING E TAL I MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT FOR TRA CTORSFiled July 18, 1945 5 =Sheets -Si1eet 4 P 1945- F. HORNING ET ALMA'JIERliAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT FOR TRACTORS Filed July 18, 1945 5Sheets-Sheet 5 717;; a %ENTORS.

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Patented Sept. 10, 1946 OFFICE MATERIAL HANDLING ATTACHMENT on TRACTORSFrancis Horn'ing and Howard Homing, Galion, Ohio Application July 18,1945, Serial No. 605,708

. 1 Claim.

This invention relates to an attachment for tractors whereby variouskinds of material can be handled readily for loading, etc. The inventionis especially useful for loading manure, hay, etc.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficientattachment which can be applied readily to the main axle housing of thetractor and is supported astride the front portion of the tractor, therebeing a material engaging head tiltably connected to a lifting frame andhaving means by which the head can be released for unloading thematerial.

A still further object is to provide a material engaging head which canbe adjusted angularly to any desired position relative to its supportingframe, the position of the head relative to its supporting frame beingadjustable readily and being held by a latching mechanism of new andnovel construction through which the adjustment is effected.

A still further object is to provide new and novel means for actuatingthe frame at the will of the operator.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds,"

the claim, it being understood that changes may .:1:

be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departingfrom the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown:

In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tractor equipped with the presentimprovement.

Figure 2 is a sid -elevation, parts being broken away, one of thepositions of the attachment being indicated by broken lines and anotherposition being indicated by full lines.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 illustrating the opposite side ofthe structure, two positions of the attachment being indicated, one bybroken lines and one by full lines.

Figure 4 is a section through a portion of the head and illustrating itslatching and adjusting means partly in section and partly in elevation,said section being taken substantially .on the line 4-4, Figure 1.

Figure '7 is a bottom plan view of a portion of. the tractor and showingthe portion of theoperating mechanism joined thereto.

Figure 8 is a section on line 8-8, Figured.

Figure '9 is a section on line 9-9, Figure-7.

Referring to the'figures by characters of reference, A designates therear or main axle housing of a tractor, the'body'portion of which hasbeen indicated at B and supported at the forward end by one or morewheels C as ordinarily.

The present invention comprises a frame made up of forwardly convergingside beams I, the rear ends of which are hingedly connected to brackets2 which are secured in any suitable manner to the axle housing A.

Supported between the forward ends of the side beams and. joined theretoby aligned pivot pins 3 or the like is the material engaging head which,in the present instance, is formed of a transverse plate 4 having sideflanges "5, a forwardly extended bottom flange 6 and 'a rearwardlyextended top flange I.

Slots 8 are formed "in the lower portion of the plate 4 and arepreferably parallel and regularly spaced. Located on the bottom flange 6adjacent to each of these slots are brackets 9 which can be arranged inpairs and pivotally mounted between the brackets of each pair is a prong[9 of any suitable length, the rear portion of which is extendedbackwardly through the adjacent slots. The lower link of a toggle ll ispivotally connected to the rear end portion of the prong and the upperlink of the toggle is pivctally connected to a bracket I2 extendingbackwardly from the upper portion of the plate 4. As shown particularlyin Figure 6,, the upper link of the toggle is formed of a channeledmember [3 which embraces the .bracket I2. A pin I4 is pivotallyconnected to the bracket and extended loosely through the channeledmember [3 of the toggle and this pin has an adjustable nut l5constituting means for receiving thrustv from ,a coiled spring it whichbears against the channeled member l3 and serves normally to resistswinging movement of the member 13 relative to .the bracket 12. It willbe noted that the pivotal connection between the two links of the toggleis out of a dead center, as shown at H. Thus under ordinary loads, thetoggle and the spring will serve to hold the prong 10 against downwardswinging movement to the position indicated by broken lines in Figure 4.However, when the prong is subjected to an excessive load which mightbreak the parts, the upward pressure against the toggle exerted by therear end of the prong will be sufficient to break the joint in thetoggle and place the spring I 6 under compression. Thus the toggle willfold and allow the prong to drop downwardly until such time as it isrelieved of its load, whereupon it will move back to its initialposition. Any desired number of these prongs will be used and each ofthem will be equipped with the same type of safety means.

Obviously. instead of providing prongs, a shovel structure could be usedwhich would operate upon the same principle.

Standards l8 are fixedly joined to the side beams I back of the plate 4and at these points, the frame can be reinforced by cross bar I9. Atransverse shaft is journaled in the standards and carries dependingbrackets 2I sup orting a latch bar 22. This latch bar is rotatablymounted in the brackets 2| and is provided with a crank arm 23 to whicha pull rod 24 or the like can be connected, thus providing an operatingmeans which extends to a point where it can be reached readily by theoperator of the tractor.

Mounted on. a bracket 25 extending upwardly from the top flange I is apivoted latch 2t having a tapered head 21 at its free end leading to anotch 28 formed in the bottom edge of the latch. Normally the latch bar22 is seated in this notch as shown particularly in Fi ures 4 and 5 andthe latch is held pressed against the bar 22 by a coiled spring 29attached at one end to the latch and at its other end to the plate 4.

The latch bar 22 has a fin 33 extending radially therefrom at a pointbelow the latch. This fin constitutes a latch lifting element and isnormally out of contact with the latch. as shown in Fi ures 4 and 5.However, when the bar 23 is locked by pulling on crank arm 23, the fin33 will swing against the head of the latch 23 and lift it out ofengagement with the bar 22 with the result that plate 4 thus is free toswing forwardly and downwardly about its pivotal connections 3 so as todump any load which might be carried thereby and by the prongs or otherdevices extending therefrom. As soon as the latch bar 22 is returned toits normal position, the head 21 will drop back into engagement with thelatch bar so that the parts thus will become reset. The downwardmovement of the released latch 26 is limited by the flange I and thebracket 25 thereon so that when the parts are returned to their initialpositions, the latch will be properly guided into engagement with thelatch bar 22.

The transverse shaft 26 has an arm 3! extending therefrom to which ispivotally connected a tubular shaft section 32 into which is extended ascrew threaded shaft section 33 loosely mounted in a bearing 34 carriedby one of the side beams I. This shaft section 33 is connected by auniversal joint 35 to an operating crank shaft 36 or the like extendedto a point where it can be reached and actuated readily by the operatorof the tractor. Thus when the shaft 36 is rotated, shaft section 33,which is held against longitudinal movement in its bearing, will movethe tubular shaft section 32 forwardly or backwardly, depending on thedirection of rotation of shaft 33 with the result that shaft 23 will berocked backwardly or forwardly so that motion will be transmittedthrough the latch bar 22 to latch 26 with the result that the headformed of plate 4 and the parts connected thereto, will be adjustedangularly about its pivotal connection, the position of the head will bemaintained with reference to the side beams I until another adjustmentis obtained. Thu the head can be quickly set to bring the loadsupporting elements into position at the correct angle prior to theoperation of the mechanism. To release the head so that the load can bedumped, it becomes merely necessary to rock the latch bar 22 so as tocause fin 30 to press upwardly against the latch 26 and disengage itfrom the latch bar. Importance is attached to the fact that the latchingmechanism constitutes an essential part of the head adjusting mechanism,motion being transmitted to the head durin the adjustment thereofthrough the latch and latch bar. The latching mechanism will operateefficiently no matter to what angle the head may be adjusted relative tothe side beams.

For the purpose of raising and lowering the side beams and the loadengaging structure carried thereby, there is provided an upwardlyextended frame 37 which preferably bridges the forward portion of thetractor and is fixedly joined to the sides thereof. The width of thisframe is less than that of the swinging frame heretofore described, andconnected to the upper portion of the frame is a cross beam 38 to oneend of which is joined one end of a hoist cable as indicated at 33, thiscable, 43, being extended downwardly from the point of connection 39under a pulley 4i connected to one of the side beams I; thence upwardlyover a pulley 42 connected to the center of the beam 38 thencedownwardly under a pulley 43 connected to the other side beam and thenceupwardly over a pulley 4-"- connected to the other end of the beam 33.From this latter pulley the cable at is extended back to a winding drumor Windlass 45 secured to one end portion of a transverse shaft 46. Thisshaft is journaled in a bearing member 41 which is pivotally mountedadjacent to its center as indicated at 48, the pivot element beingextended from a plate 49 or the like which is secured to the bottom ofthe tractor. A friction wheel 50 is secured to the other end of shaft 46and carries a pneumatic tire 5!. This wheel is located between a brakeshoe 52 supported by an arm 53 extended laterally from the plate 49 anda drive wheel 54 carried by the power takeoff shaft 55 of the tractor.The drive wheel 55, which is a friction element, and the shoe 5? arenormally spaced from the tire 5i mounted on the wheel 50 so that underordinary conditions the take off shaft 55 and its friction wheel 53 canoperate without driving the shaft 45. However, by actuating a rod 56connected to a slidable bearing 5'! in which shaft at is journaled, saidshaft can be given a slight tilting movement backwardly or forwardly,thereby to bring the tread of the tire 5! into contact either with thedrive wheel 54 or with the brake shoe 52. Should it be brought intocontact with the rotating wheel 54, motion will be transmitted to thewheel 58 and, through shaft 45 to the Windlass 45 which thus wouldoperate to wind the cable thereon.

Secured to the shaft 36 at a point adjacent to the Windlass 45 is afriction disk 58 and extending under this disk is a friction band 59.Shaft 46 is capable of a slight up or down movement within its bearing4'! but this movement is normally resisted by a spring 60 carried by astem 6| which is slidably mounted in a bracket 62 and is connected tothe bearing member 4? as shown particularly in Figure 9. This spring 60exerts a constant downward thrust against a nut 33 or the like carriedby stem 3i so that the friction disk 58 thus is held pressed yieldinglyagainst the band 59 which is pivotally anchored at one end as shown at64. Its other end is adjustably connected to a bracket 55 by means of abolt 66.

After the head of the attachment has been adjusted to a predeterminedangle as before explained, and with the latch 26 in engagement with bar22, the frame made up of the beams I' can be lowered by moving thefriction wheel 50'to its intermediate or neutral position so that theweight of the load carrying head will cause the beams to swingdownwardly and the cable 40 to unwind from the windlass 45. As long asthere is no pullin strain on the cable 45, the friction disk 58 willremain in wiping contact with band 59 so that the shaft 46 will not spinafter the cable is relieved of the weight of its load.

With the load carrying head lowered to the desired position followingadjustment to the predetermined angle, the tractor is moved forwardly soas to force said head into engagement with the material to be lifted.After a load has been moved onto the head the shaft 46 is shifted tobring the tire 5| into contact with the wheel 54. Thus shaft 46 isrevolved at a reduced speed and the windlass is caused to wind the cable40 thereupon. Because of the arrangement of pulleys and cable loops,this will result in an upward swinging movement of the loaded head andafter it has been brought to a desired elevation the shaft 46 isabruptly shifted to bring tire 51 into contact with the stationary brakeshoe 52. Thus the shaft 46 is held against rotation and the cable icannot unwind therefrom. Obviously, during the application of a load tothe cable, said-cable serves to pull the friction disk 58 upwardly fromthe friction band 59.

The tractor can be moved to the point of deliver and when that point isreached, the operator pulls on the releasing or unlatching rod 24. Thiscauses the latch bar 22 to partly rotate with the result that the fin 38comes against the head of latch 26 and lifts the latch out of engagementwith said bar. Consequently, the head will swing downwardly and dump itscontents. The tractor is then brought back for reloading and by bringingthe wheel 50 to its intermediate position, shaft 43 will be free torotate rapidly under the weight of the load engaging head and thedescending beams I, thereby causing the cable to unwind from thewindlass. Spinning of this windlass, however, will be prevented byfrictional contact of the disk 58 with the band 59 which are broughttogether by the spring 60 as soon as the windlass is relieved of thepull from the cable. Upon arrival of the head in contact with theground, it will automatically swing into reset position where it will besecured by its latch. The tractor can then be driven forwardly to forcethe head into the material to be loaded whereupon the foregoingoperation will be repeated.

As before stated, the angle of the head relative to the side beams I canbe varied at will simply by rotating the sectional shaft formed of theparts 32, 33 and 36.

By providing a pneumatic. tire to form the friction surface of thefriction wheel 55, a very efficient working connection between the wheel54 and wheel 50 is afforded and frequent replacements of these frictionsurfaces becomes unnecessary.

It is preferred to strengthen the rear portion of the frame formed bythe beams l and their connections b utilizing a rear cross bar 61rigidly secured to the side beams and preferably in the form of adepending yoke extending transversely beneath the rear portion of thetractor.

What is claimed is:

The combination with a tractor or the like, of a frame mounted for upand down swinging movement relative thereto, said frame being extendedforwardly beyond and to the sides of the tractor a material engaginghead carried by the frame, and means for raising and lowering the framerelative to the tractor, said means including a motor driven shaft havina friction wheel, a brake shoe spaced from the shaft, a transverse shaftmounted for up and down and back and forth swinging movement, a frictionwheel on said shaft, a tire carried by the friction wheel andconstituting a friction tread, said wheel and tire being interposedbetween and normally out of contact with the shoe and the wheel on themotor driven shaft, means for shifting said transverse shaft to positionits friction wheel in contact with either the brake shoe or the wheel onthe motor driven shaft, a windlass on the transverse shaft, andmeansactuated by the windlass for raising and lowering the framerelative to the tractor.

FRANCIS HORN'ING. HOWARD HORNING.

